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Garm Baldin
Garm Baldin is an Admiral in the Imperial Navy, currently in command of the 12th Outer Rim Battlegroup. He participated in some of the most influential fleet operations in galactic history, and he played an instrumental role in Grand Admiral Thrawn's ascension to leader of the Empire. Biography Early Career Garm Baldin was born on Coruscant, and lived as normal a life as a child can live in the middle areas of the city planet. When he was old enough, he enlisted in the Republic military (such as it was at the time), as much to get out and see the galaxy as to get away from the boredom of his neighborhood. Shortly before the outbreak of the Clone Wars, when the Republic Navy was in dire need of new officers for the fleet, Baldin jumped at the chance and enrolled in officer school. He served with distinction during the Clone Wars, advancing to Commander at the relatively young age of 29, due in no small part to attrition of officers during the volatile conflict. Fondor In 7 ABY, the ongoing war between the New Republic and the Empire had heated up again. It was late in this year the the New Republic and the Corellian Commonwealth launched a joint operation against the Imperial shipyards at Fondor, in the hopes of crippling one of the Empire's most important manufacturing facilities. Baldin had anticipated a Republic offensive, and had kept the crew of the ''Omnipotence'' and the rest of the ships under his command at a near-constant state of readiness. Despite the strain put on his crew by the constant stress, Baldin's precautions paid off when the distress call from Fondor's defenders came in, and the entire fleet was able to make the jump to hyperspace in short order. By the time his fleet arrived, however, the battle was already well underway, and the defending fleet was close to defeat. The Omnipotence ''engaged the [[Hope's Sanctuary|''Hope's Sanctuary]], the Corellian flagship commanded by Coret Trobane, while the two fleets clashed in savage combat. It wasn't until the [[Cleansing|star destroyer Cleansing]] arrived with fresh Imperial reinforcements that the battle began to reach a conclusion. The engagement resulted in an Imperial victory, but losses on both sides of the fight were grievous, and the Omnipotence was destroyed when it rammed the Sanctuary. Baldin fled the Omnipotence after giving the order to ram, a decision that would save his life but ultimately haunt him for years afterward. Stirrings of Rebellion Subsequent to the Battle of Fondor and Damascus's ascension to the Imperial throne, Baldin resolved that what had happened to the Empire under Palpatine could not be allowed to happen again, and began plans for a coup against the administration. Years were spent planning, as Baldin quietly contacted like-minded officers from the Sector Command base at Byss and worked to make sure the eventual coup was as bloodless as possible. This period also saw the construction of Baldin's new flagship, the prototype ''Warlock''. Perhaps blinded by his unwillingness to see Imperial forces at each others' throats yet again, Baldin never saw an opportunity to launch his rebellion, and was about to scrap the entire idea when he received a message from the most unlikely source: an apparently resurrected Admiral James Ardin. Never meeting in person, working only through trusted third parties, the two Admirals conspired until the time was right. Corellia Their opportunity finally presented itself when Damascus, mad with power and with a brand new Death Star ready for combat, launched his invasion of Corellia to crush the Republic once and for all. Baldin's primary goal in the battle was the protection of the Cleansing; despite the ship's occupants, Baldin was unwilling to see another Imperial command ship of that strength fall at Republic hands. The close proximity to the Cleansing during the battle also allowed him to easily transfer Admiral Ardin to the Imperial flagship, allowing him to carry out his plan. Due in no small part to Baldin's tactics, his task force emerged from the battle with minimal casualties, despite the destruction of the Death Star, the deaths of both Emperor Damascus and Admiral Ardin, and the loss of hundreds of other Imperial warships. Republic losses were even heavier, however, and it would be years before either power posed a serious threat to the other.In the days after the battle ended, Baldin and his compatriots worked to see Admiral Ardin's final wishes brought to fruition. A peace conference was called at which nearly every major governmental entity in the galaxy had representatives. It was during this conference, just as Banner Ton attempted to take power, that Baldin presented Ardin's plan for the galaxy, and Grand Admiral Thrawn was installed as new head of the Imperial government.